Boot top



C. TWEEDlE.

BOOT TOP.

APPLICATION rmzu MAY20,1922.

Beissued July 18, 1922. 1 5 ,4 1 6.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES TWEEDIE, or irrirrnnson orrY, nussomu.

Specification of Reissued Letters Patent. Reissued Ji ly 18, 1922,

Original No. 1,153,977, dated September 21, 1915, Serial No. 876,404,filed December 10, 1914. Application for reissue filed May 20, 1922.Serial No. 562,538. v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES TWEEDIE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of J eiferson City, in the county of Cole and State ofMissouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in BootTops,ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates'to boot-tops which are made and soldseparately-from the boot,

and which are intended to be worn over low shoes in the manner ofover-gaiters.

The object of the invention is a full quarter boot-top of cloth or otherdistinctive material,-and which is adapted to be worn over alow shoe tosimulate the appearance of a cloth top boot, thereby disguising its truecharacter.

The invention consists in a boot-top having the quarters cut full lengthto the line of the sole at the heel and instep, with a strap conformingto'the shape and width'of the sole across the instep, and with theforepart cut approximately on the line of a circular vamp.

The invention further consists in the arrangement of the back seam nearthe heel and the front seam from over the instep to the forwardend,'w'hich are cut a trifle scant in order to put spring into the topat these places andcause it to hug the shoe.

Further details of the invention appear in connection withthe followingdescription of the boot-top shown in the accompanyingv drawing, whereinthe same reference characters designate l1ke parts inthe several views.

View similar to Figure 1 showing a'diiferent' style of boot-top andF'igure 5 is a bottom view of the top shownin Figure 4.

In theembodiment ofthe invention illus-' trated in Figures 1, 2 and 3,the button boottop '11 comprises quarters 12 of suitable material, suchas leather, broadcloth, or other fabric, cut full length, that is, fromthe In the drawings,1Fi%ure 1 is'a side eleva tted with aboot-top upperextremity of the leg portion to the top line of the sole and heel of theshoe 13.

A strap 14- of patentleather or other suitable material connects'thelower edges of the quartersin front of the heel. The lower portion 15 ofthe quarters extends forward of the instep, their front edges followingline of the top ofthe vamp across'the front of the shoe. and slopingdownward and backward at the sides to'about the forward lineof the shankportion of the sole of the shoe. The boot-tops are made rights andlefts, and

' the two quarters of each top are cut slightly.

different along their front andbottom edges. The quarterwhichcom'es onthe inner side of the foot has'a'flap 16 which laps over the outsidequarter and is buttoned thereto. The quarter on the inner side is cutslightly longerfrom top to bottom at the forward end of the sole thanthe quarter on the outer side, the difference in length between the twogradually diminishing toward the heel, at which pointthe 1 length of thetwo sides is alike, whereby the strap 14 may conform to the shape of thesole of the shoe. The seamed portion at the back seam 17 is sprung nslightly at the heel, the amount of springing being greatest'at thebottom of the seam and running out to nothing at the fullest partof theswell above the heel. seamed portion" at the front 'seam 18, 'in buttonboot-tops, is sprung down toward the forward end of thetop, the amountof springing being greatest at the front end and run-.

ning out to nothing over the instep.

In the manufacture of shoes, the upper is made of'parts that are cutconformably to patterns and are then united together by seams at thefront and-back. The upper is then pulled tightly over or around a lastand secured to'the sole while still-stretched around the last. For manyyears past, shoes have been gradechin standard sizes, and certainmeasurements of the last have been established as standard throughoutthe United States, andthe patterns comforrnably t hich the-parts of theupper are out are made withreference to such standard last measurements.appearance,'the parts of the upper are cut so that thefront and rearseams will lie in vertical planes, As'the last is rigid and theu'pper ispulled tight overthe last at The For the sake of neatness of the time ofsoling, the upper fits the last tight; but while the shoe made on a lastfits that last tight, comfort requires that a shoe must be larger thanthe foot on which it is'worn and I take advantage of these facts in mypresent invention.

According to my invention, the parts of the upper are made withreference to the recognized practice of shoe pattern making with certainexceptions that bring about a slight springing in of the portion at theback seam below the swell of the heel, and a slight springing in of theportion at the front seam below the instep. \Vhat I mean by springing inat said seamed portions may be understood by assuming that my boot-tofits a shoe at and above the instep and at and above the swell of theheel.

, give the appearance of a fancy dress shoe. 60

,vention.

In such case, all of the buttons of my boot-top at and above the instepcan be readily buttoned while such shoe is on the last on which itwas-made; but in suchcase, the buttons below the instep. will fail toreach their buttonholes by an amount that gradually increases from theinstep to the front lower edge. of the boottop. When, however, this lastis removed from such shoe and the shoe .is placed on a human foot whichit fits comfortably and my boot-top applied thereto, all of its buttonscan be buttoned; for, in such case, the shoe "and the foot can yieldsufiiciently to permitsuch buttoning even though the boot-top is of.less girth below the instep than the corresponding portion of the shoein its normal condition. 1

.The boot-top is lined with cotton, duck or other suitable material, andthe front and back seams are covered with strips 19 of 4O suitablematerial, whereby the seamed por tions are stiff enough to prevent thetop from wrinkling. The front part of the boot-top is also stiffenedbyan extra piece 20 of buckram or other suitable stiffening material.

The boot-top 21 shown in Fig. 4 is similar to the boot-top 11, exceptthatit has no front flap, but isprovided with eyelets 22 down the frontedges of the quarters for lacings23., A tongue 24 is also provided,which is secured at its lower front end to either quarter alone,preferably the outside quarter, or to both quarters. The front edges ofthe uarters are reinforced by strips 25 of buc ram or other suitablestifiening material. -A foxing 26 of patent leather or. otherdistinctive material is sewed around the heel portion of the quarters toIt is evident that the style of the boottop may be varied, and itsappearance may be changed without departing from the in- For example,the seams may be covered with leather, and a leather foxing may be putaroundthe heel in imitation of a full length vamp. The invention is notrestricted to the precise forms shown and described herein.

What I claim is:

1. A boot-top to be worn over a low shoe, said boot-top having fulllength quarters following the general lines ofthe upper portion of ahigh boot, the lower edges of said boottop being arranged to coincidewith the edges of the sole of the shoe around the heel and alon thesides of the shank, and the front and back lower portions of saidboot-top being sprung in a sufficient amount to make the lower edges ofsuch portions closely hug the shoe, and a strap connecting the lowerside edges of the. boot-top, said strap being arranged to lie beneathand fit the shank of the shoe from, the breastof the heel to-the pointswhere the lower edges of the boot-top intersect the edges .of the sole.

2. A boot-top to be worn over a shoe, said boot-top having full, lengthquarters following the general lines of the upper portion of a highboot, the lower edges of said boot top beingarranged to coincide withthe edges of the sole of the shoe along the sides of the shank, and theback lower portion of said boot-top being sprung in a suflicient amountto make the lower edges of the heel portion closely hug the shoe, and aconnecting strap sewed to the lower side edges of the boot-top wherethey coincide with the edges of the sole, said strap being arranged tofit snugly beneath the shank of the shoe and draw in said lower sideedges."

3. A boot-top to be worn over a shoe, said boot-top having full lengthquarters following the general lines of the upper portion of a highboot, the lower edges of said boot-top being curved to coincide with thearched edges of the sole of the shoe along the sides of the shank, andthe lower portion 'of the front of said boot-top being sprung in asufficient amount to make the lower edges of A boot-top to be worn overa shoe, said boot-top having quarters following the general lines of theupper portion of a high boot, the lower edges of said boot-topcoinciding with the edges of the sole of the shoe along the sides of theshank, said boot-top having a sideopening and a front seam, a

strip of material along said front seam for stiffening it lengthwise,the lower portion of said front seamed portion being sprung in asufiicient amount to make the lower edges of.

the boot-top closely hu the shoe in front, and a strap connecting thelower side edges of the boottop, said strap having ends shaped toconform to the shape of the shank of the shoe and which ends are sewedto the lower edges of the boot-too where they coincide with the edges ofthe sole.

5. A boot-top to be worn over a low shoe, said boot-top having fulllength quarters following the general lines of the upper portions of ahigh boot, the lower edges of said boot-top being arranged to coincidewith the edges of the sole of the shoe around the heel and along thesides of theshank, and a strap connecting the lower side edges of theboottop and constituting an anchoring member therefor, the girthmeasurement of said boot-top at the instep and through said strap beinggreater than the girth measurement of the shoe and foot. at the instepand around the shank of the shoe, and the girth measurement of theboot-top at its forward tip and through said strap being less than thecorresponding girth measurement of the shoe, whereby said boot-top fitsthe shoe comfortably at the instep glrth and the fit forward of theinstep becomes gradually tighter to the tip of such boot-top.

6. A boot-top to be worn over a low shoe, said boot-top having fulllength quarters following the general lines of the upper portions of ahigh boot and having a strap portion for anchoring said boot-top underthe shanks of the shoe, the lower edges of said boot-top being arrangedto coincide with the edges of the sole of the shoe around the heel andalong the sides of the shank, the girth measurement of said boot-topthrough the strap and around the instep being in excess of the girth ofthe shoe and foot measured at the instep and under the shank of theshoe, and such boot-top girth measurements forward of the instepgradually decreasing more and more to the tip of said boot-top relativeto the corresponding shoe and foot measurements, whereby said boot-topis adapted to make a comfortable fit at the instep while the front tipof the boot-top hugs the shoe.

7. A boot-top to be worn over a low shoe, said boot-top having fulllength quarters following the general lines of the upper portion of ahigh boot, the lower edges of said boot-top being arranged to coincidewith the edges of the sole of the shoe around the heel and along thesides of the shank, and a strap connecting the lower side edges of theboottop and constituting an anchoring member therefor, the lowerportions of the front and back of said boot-top being sprung in slightlyat the seams so that the lower front edge of said boot-top will hug theshoe tightly while the fit at and above the instep is free.

8. A boot-top to be worn over a low shoe, said boot-top having fulllength quarters following the general lines of the upper portions of ahigh boot and having a row of cooperating buttons and button holes, thelower edges of the said boot-top bein arranged to coincide with theedges of the sole of the shoe around the heel and along the sides of theshank, and a strap connecting'the lower side edges of the boot-top andconstituting an anchoring member therefor, the portion of the rearseamed port-ion below the swell at the heel springing in slightly, andthe girth measurements below the instep being adapted to make the lowerfront edge of the boot-top hug the shoe i -htly while the fit at theinste is free.

Signed at Jefferson City, Liissouri, this 8th day of May, 1922.

CHARLES TWEEDIE.

